Fantom 29 X4 or Expert

I'm looking to pick up a bike in the next few days and have my eyes set on one of these two bikes. I'm still fairly new on looking at the levels of components so any suggestions on the pluses and minuses of each would be appreciated.

need links. First off, are you able/willing to do the assembly yourself, have you worked on bikes before, and willing to take your life in your own hands (trust your life on the brakes you setup)? If you say yes to these, bikesdirect is good. If not, it can be easier to get one from your local bike shop (LBS).

I updated the original post with the links. I've built a couple bikes before so I'm familiar and comfortable with doing that. The difference that pops out to me is that the Expert includes the SRAM X5 components while the X4 includes the SRAM X4. I'm not familiar enough to say if the other components offset that. I'm leaning towards the Expert but would like some input from people know this stuff better than I do.

Are there other options in this price range I should be looking at too (i.e., Gravity)?

The graivty 29.1 would be a close second because it has a slightly better drivetrain, but the brakes on the 29.1 are not as good.

What I don't like about the bikes:
I don't like 8-speed drivetrains with "megarange" cassetes. I'd rather have an 8-speed with a 11-32 shimano/Sunrace cassette or 9-speed with the 11-34 cassette. They have much smoother gear transmittions from one cog to the next. My preference would be from best to least, Gravity 29.4 (10-speed), moto expert(9-speed), 529(good 8-speed), and the worst is the X4(bad 8-speed). I would avoid the X4.

crankset. The 26-36-46 tooth crankset on the expert is more for road/asphalt,smooth dirt use or someone whose really fit. I'd rather have a 22-32-42 crankset on the 529 or gravity for rocky/rooty trail use. I'd rate the cranksets highest to lowest as gravity, 529, X4 and the expert. The expert is better quality than the X4, but not by much and I'd have to replace the chainrings.

brakes: cheap hydraulics can be cheap, but if they work, they'll work fine. If they don't work, warranty. Before you open up any of the fluid paths to bleed, make sure someone is around whose done it before or watch a whole lot of youtube videos. The avids will be better, but they'll all be good and similar in performance. Shimano does make better hydraulic brakes.

frame: the motobecane X4, expert, and 529 are similar frames and use a straight 1 1/8" steer tube, so future fork upgrades will be a challenge since industry is going to the tapered headset. You'll be able to find straight tube forks, but they'll be more expensive than the tapered equivalent and you'll be limited with the quality level. High end forks will not come straight tube. The gravity frame comes with a 1 1/8" straight tube, but the frame can accept an external headset that allows it to use a tapered headtube. Not a huge concern if you don't plan on upgrading forks anytime soon or if you plan on selling this and getting a better bike when that time comes

I was looking to save a little on the X4 but it sounds like the Expert will fit my type of riding a little better, especially when it comes to the crankset. The Gravity looks like a really nice bike but is a little out of my price range.

I think I'm now down to the 529 and the Expert. Both of them have SRAM which I prefer. The 529 coming with the x4 and the Expert coming with the x5. It also looks like the 529 does not have a lock-out fork. Since I ride 75 road/25 dirt would I see more benefit with the Expert when it comes to the crankset?

For the money, I'd think you'd be better off with the 529. Once you start wearing stuff out, you'll have a much better idea what you do and don't want to spend money on. Unless you're standing and really rocking on your bike, you won't benefit from lockout too much. For flat travel or continuous force cranking, I barely notice my fork compressing. Also, the expert comes with a mechanical lockout, which really isn't that much of an upgrade. I've seen people break the MLO before. Not worth the extra cost in comparison to just buying a better fork down the road.
And X4 vs. X5 derailure is a wash. Both work, and if the X4 RD goes out, you can easily justify getting a better one. I doubt you'll have much problem with an X4 though, especially with an 8-speed.
For road use, comparing a 32T chainring against a 36 is a wash too. I have a 29er with 32T middle chainring and another 29er with a 38T middle chainring. The 38T is a litle better for road, but the 32T works just as well when I shift the front gear to the big ring. It's on the trails where the difference is really noticible I'd much rather have a 32T chainring for trail use.

Relatively easy fork swap. You can't convert a XCT fork without lock out to one with. In reality, the xct mlo fork isn't a good upgrade over the regular fork. Spend $100 on eBay to get a new fork from China or a used Rockshox or manitou. Just get hydraulic damping. If you really want it for the lockout function, consider buying a rigid fork from Nashbar for $50.